"His name was Sundara...."
We all jumped at the sound of Avani's voice, and I half-rose as I quickly looked her way. She was sitting up on the bed, her chin resting on her knees as she stared ahead at nothing, and Chanda was standing next to her, stroking her hair as she looked over her shoulder at us in dismay.
"You mean your former lover? The one you remembered in your dreams one night?" I asked, trying to remember the details of that conversation. She had said he'd died... no, that he'd been murdered.
"Yes. He was two years older than me, and he was a vocational music student, the apprentice to the chief musician, called the pravada—meaning bard. One of his duties was to help teach the non-vocational students, such as me. He was very talented and could play many instruments as well as sing. He had a beautiful, rich, baritone voice. But he was especially skilled with the sur-mandal. Do you remember his instrument, Rishi? It was so beautiful, painted like the tip of a peacock's tail feather. He loved peafowl, and kept them as pets...." A strangled sob escaped her throat, and she hugged her legs more tightly.
Sharmila glanced at Rishi, then looked over to me. "Perhaps... perhaps we should go and continue this conversation tomorrow. Avani has been through a lot tonight, and she should rest. I imagine that she is feeling overwhelmed and overwrought at the sudden return of her memory. Will that be acceptable?"
I looked at my wife's huddled form as she wept quietly on the bed, then looked over to Dylas and Arthur, both of whom gave no indication of any preference. With a sigh, I said, "Yes, that will be acceptable. I think you're right—a good night's rest should prove beneficial."
Rishi turned towards me. "Is there a place in town where we may stay the night? We could teleport back to our village and return in the morning if needed, but such travel is taxing."
Arthur spoke up. "There is an inn in town. The innkeeper, along with all the rest of the town, is at a celebration tonight and is not accepting guests. However, under the circumstances, I'm certain she will make an exception for you. If you will just come with me, I will introduce you."
I stood up, too, saying, "My apologies that I cannot offer you a bed here. We only have a small daybed in the study for guests. However, if there is only room for the two of you at the inn, Chanda could stay there tonight."
Dylas glanced questioningly at me, then added, "Or if there is only room for one at the inn, I could sleep on the daybed here and Rishi and Sharmila could have my room for the night."
"Thank you," Rishi said, bowing slightly. "Your kindness is appreciated."
As I led them to the back door, to take the shortcut through the gardens to the restaurant, I said, "Then let's reconvene tomorrow, say at 10:00? Arthur, could we perhaps use your office? Or would you prefer to meet here?"
Before he could answer, though, Avani looked up at me and said barely above a whisper, "Here, please, Leo. It's more... more private."
Sharmila led Rishi to Avani, and he bent down to kiss her on her head. "Then goodnight, Avani dear. I hope you rest well," he said to her gently.
She reached up and hesitantly touched his cheek. "Good night, Rishi, my love. I... I'm glad you found me again." He grasped her hand and held it tightly for a moment, then released it and turned to leave. Sharmila also kissed her head, whispering something that brought a half-smile to Avani's face before she, too, took her leave.
Chanda hesitated, reluctant to leave. Avani smiled at her, though her eyes still glistened with tears in the amber light. She reached out and pulled the silver-haired woman into an embrace, murmuring, "Thank you for coming with Rishi and Sharmila, Chanda. We have a lot to catch up on, so please come again tomorrow. Right now, though, I need to rest. I'm so very tired...."
Her friend straightened up and nodded, but said nothing. Then she gave her a quick kiss on her cheek before darting out the door, racing past Rishi and Sharmila, who walked slowly and carefully over the unfamiliar terrain.
Arthur bade us good night and said he'd return for a consultation if there was any difficulty in procuring beds for our visitors tonight. Then he departed, leaving only Dylas, who looked suddenly, strangely, shy.
"So... uhh, I guess this means you've recovered your memories? That's... that's good. I know how much it bothered you, that you couldn't remember. I'm glad for you."
Avani again leaned her head against her knees, shivering as if suddenly chilled. "Thanks, Dylas. But... I'm not sure you should be glad... nor that I am."
Looking a little baffled, Dylas hesitated a moment, then followed the others out into the night, and I quietly closed the door behind him.
Avani looked up at me, and she appeared weary beyond words. "I know you must have a lot of questions, Leo. But I'm so exhausted I can hardly think straight. And I can't really... I haven't assimilated everything yet. It's all so confusing. Can you wait until tomorrow? Let me sleep on it. And would you ask the butlers to see to my crops and animals tomorrow, please? I think I'm going to need all the rest I can get."
I sighed to myself—I'd very much hoped to talk things over with her once we were alone, to find out... to find out just what had frightened her so. But I wouldn't press her—I knew she would tell me in her own time. "Of course, My Lady," I replied, but before I left to write a note for Volkanon, I sat next to her and put my arms around her, holding her tightly. "Just remember what I told you—I'm here with you. No matter what happens, I will never forsake you."
She leaned against me, saying, "Thanks, Leo. And I can at least tell you this much is true—Rishi is my own dear twin brother. It... it's incomprehensible that I could have lived the past three years separated from him." And with that, she lay back down, and even before I rose, she was sound asleep.
**************
"Mr. Leon, sir?" A soft voice penetrated the mists of my dreams, and as my final fantasy gave way to reality, I opened my eyes to see Vishnal hovering anxiously over me, one hand gently resting on my shoulder.
"Yeah?" I replied groggily, blinking in the light of a sunny spring morning, dazzling to my tired eyes despite being filtered through the draperies. "What's up? Is anything wrong? Didn't Volkanon get my note?"
"Oh, yes, sir! Everything's taken care of! He said that you asked me to wake you and Princess at 9:00, and that's what time it is now."
"Dragonsbreath, is it that late already?" I sighed and sat up. "Thanks, Vishnal. I'll wake Avani up after I've made breakfast. Let's let her sleep while she can, all right?"
"Yes sir, but there's no need to make breakfast. Clorica already made breakfast for you! She'll be along in just a few minutes with it."
"Ahh, how very kind of her. Thanks, I'll take it from here." I started to swing my legs off the bed to rise, but Vishnal remained where he was, still looking anxious. "Is... there something else?" I asked, eying him curiously.
"Well... no... I mean, nothing official anyway...." he replied, looking flustered.
"Come on, out with it, man. What is it?"
"I-it's just that... is... is it true what they're saying? That the strange man that showed up at the party last night is Princess's brother, and that he's come to take her away?"
I looked at him, startled. The rumor mill never ceased to amaze me—it always came up with such surprising things, both back in my time and in this present time.
"I suppose that's half true. He is her brother, but as far as I know, he hasn't come to take her away. Even if he wants her to return with him, she's not going anywhere she doesn't want to go. So don't fret, Vishnal. She's happy here, and I'm sure here is where she'll choose to stay when all's said and done."
He looked relieved at that, and with a cheerful smile, he took his leave just as Clorica arrived with a breakfast tray. With a sigh, I got out of bed, placing a finger on my lips to remind her to keep quiet. She nodded, and took the tray into the kitchen, then hurried back out, smiling as she waved goodbye before silently closing the door behind her.
I slipped into my robe, then turned to look at my wife, still soundly asleep. I'd managed to get her into her nightgown last night—a simple, loose chemise that still fit comfortably around her round belly. She'd barely stirred as I'd removed her clothing and pulled the gown over her head, she was so completely drained from the night's events. If I could, I'd let her sleep as long as she wanted—all day, even.
But time and tide wait for no man—or woman—and our guests would arrive in less than an hour. So, regretfully, I shook her gently by the shoulder until her eyelids fluttered, then flew open as she looked, startled, into my eyes. I smiled down at her, saying, "Good morning, My Lady. It's time we were up and preparing for our guests' arrival."
She looked confused for a moment, then in the blink of an eye, I saw dawning realization as the recollection of last night crashed over her like a tidal wave. Her eyes opened wide, her pupils dilated for an instant at some memory, and then she was up and darting towards her wardrobe, exclaiming delightedly over the scent of Clorica's breakfast wafting in from the kitchen, that split second of fear or shock already a thing of the past.
We had just finished drying the last dish and stacked it on the tray with the others when there was a knock on the back door. Avani went to answer it while I hurried off to deliver the tray of dishes to Clorica, along with our thanks. When I returned, Avani was sitting on the arm of the sofa next to her brother, his wife seated between him and Chanda. Arthur occupied the chair near the back door, and Dylas paced restlessly between the cellar stairs and the bed, his eyes darting between Avani and the trio on the sofa. Everyone looked up as I walked in and closed the door behind me, and I nodded in greeting, gesturing for Dylas to take the empty chair. He shook his head, saying, "Nah, you take it. I don't feel like sitting." However, he stopped pacing and leaned against the back of Arthur's chair.
I looked over at Avani, who returned my gaze with a slight nod. She rose and walked over, sitting in the empty chair. I sat on the arm of her chair and waited. Before she could say a word, though, Rishi spoke up. "Before any more time passes, Avani, my love, I have news that you need to hear." She turned to look at him, waiting silently for him to continue.
"There is no easy way to say this, so forgive my abruptness. In the three years since you departed, our parents have both passed away. Our mother first, shortly after you vanished. Our father only recently passed, so I now lead our tribe. Furthermore, now that you have recovered your memory, I want you to know why I chose the course of action I took."
Avani held up her hand, tears in her eyes. "Wait. Our mother... she's gone?"
He nodded. "I... convinced everyone that you had died in the fall from the airship. It seemed the perfect opportunity—it was a verifiable event, and certainly death was a reasonable outcome of such an accident. Only I knew that you survived at first, though eventually I confided in Sharmila. Even Chanda didn't know until yesterday, shortly before our departure. Our mother grieved greatly for you, but I think the final blow was... she learned from our father what you had told him about your marriage. I was there when he told her, and she was utterly devastated. She didn't doubt your claims. In the morning, she... she was gone. And Father...."
Avani cut him off, a hard look in her eyes. "Save your breath, Rishi. You know how I feel about our father. As for why you sealed my memory and told everyone that I was dead... I understand, I think. You wanted to keep me from returning... to him. And to keep him from looking for me. Isn't that right?"
Rishi nodded, his eyes troubled. "I still don't know if I did the right thing. It was... all I could do to protect you. The first time I've ever been able to protect you...."
Sharmila put her hand over his, and Avani looked first at me, then at her brother. She smiled, and said kindly, "Don't doubt yourself, Rishi, my love. If you hadn't... I wouldn't have met Venti, and then I'd never have made so many dear friends, or met Leo. Although my amnesia troubled me deeply, I've still lived a happier life since coming here than I had for many years before. Everything happens for a reason... even if we can't fully comprehend those reasons at the time."
He relaxed, looking relieved, and smiled . Then everyone looked expectantly at Avani, and she cleared her throat, a little nervously, I thought. She looked up at me, worried again, and I smiled reassuringly at her. She smiled back, then her smile faded as she looked off into space, remembering.
"To continue from last night, Sundara was an apprentice musician, and one of his many tasks was to help students like me to learn music. I can still remember the day I realized I was in love with him, as clearly as though it was yesterday. Of course, we'd known each other all our lives—our tribe is small and close-knit. But one day late in spring, I happened to look over at him as he sat beneath a tree playing his sur-mandal, stealing a few minutes of time to himself while we students copied a musical score for practice. I'd meant to ask him a question about the notation, but when I looked at him, my heart suddenly felt constricted, as if it had been tightly bound and was trying to burst free. I just stared at him, struck dumb by the wonder and beauty of it all—him and his music and just everything all together.
"I'm not sure how long I stared, but he looked up after a bit and caught me. I remember looking quickly away in embarrassment, but my gaze kept returning to him anyway—and each time I looked his way, I found him returning my gaze, smiling at me, though his eyes looked surprised. I don't really remember what music that I copied that day, nor playing it later. But I do remember the sweetness of the tune he played, there in the shade of the huge old mango tree.
"After he dismissed us for the afternoon, he called me back. Swinging up onto the lower limbs of the tree, he reached up and plucked a ripe mango—the first of that season's harvest—and jumped back down, landing gracefully. He tucked his sur-mandal under his arm, and asked me if I would walk with him and talk with him. I just nodded, dumbstruck, but he smiled beautifully at me. As we strolled along the hilly path, he pulled out his small knife and shaved off bits of mango and fed them to me, talking all the while, not just about music, but about the birds he'd heard and the flowers and the trees he'd seen while on his solitary walks in the hills. From that day on, we'd meet and walk together all through the hills and valleys whenever we both had free time.
"That was when I was fourteen and he was sixteen. He kissed me for the first time nearly a year later, on my fifteenth birthday—my birthday is really Spring 17, Leo, not Fall 2, the date Venti picked at random, and I'll be twenty-five on my next birthday. Anyway, Sundara had found a pretty, tiny, wild orchid growing in the mist at the back of a tiny wisp of a waterfall tumbling between two mossy rocks into a pool of deep blue water, and he took me to see it. He told me..." she paused for a moment, smiling at the memory, then continued. "He said that it was the waterfall's birthday gift to me, as the flower was too ephemeral to survive the night. He'd come across it on one of his solitary walks and had watched and waited for it to bloom, and it had finally done so just that morning. Then... he leaned over and kissed me and said that was his gift to me, but that he hoped I'd accept many more of the same in the future." She sighed, and closed her eyes to hide the tears that I saw sparkling there.
"Later, he told me that he'd fallen in love with me one day summer day shortly before he turned sixteen, while he was showing me how to tune my new sarode—an instrument similar to a lute—for the first time. He said he had thought to himself that I smelled like fresh earth and the forest and sunshine, and that my voice was like the laughter of a mountain rivulet. From then on, he said, he began taking walks in the woods whenever he had a little free time, hoping to see me there. Then, almost a year afterwards, when he caught me staring at him that day as he played under the mango tree, he knew from the look in my eyes that finally I had noticed him, too, and his heart leapt with joy.
"When he turned eighteen, he told me that he wanted to spend the rest of his days with me, that he could never love another as he loved me. I knew, of course, that I'd been betrothed since I was hardly more than a babe to... to another. But it had never felt real. He knew of my betrothal, too—everyone did. After all, I was the Princess, the daughter of the Ra'mara, and my eventual marriage was of keen interest to the whole tribe. But he hoped to persuade my father to change his mind. So on that day, he approached my father to petition him to nullify my betrothal and allow me to marry him instead.
"I... I don't know how he learned of it... my fiancé, that is, but somehow he did, and as Sundara spoke to my father while I stood at his side, he stormed into the room. He angrily reminded my father that his honor was at stake; should he break our betrothal, our family would be dishonored, and his ability to lead the tribe compromised. My father... agreed with him, and denied Sundara his petition. Then... then he demanded I tell him if I was still a virgin, and when I said yes, he further demanded that I remain a virgin until our marriage. We were all shocked—celibacy was never a requirement among our people, at least, not within memory."
Sharmila broke in then, saying, "A word of explanation about our customs regarding love, marriage, and childbearing might be helpful, Avani, since they are sure to differ from the customs here." She looked at me, then glanced over at Arthur and Dylas, who were both rapt, then back to me. "You see, our forefathers were barbaric, violent, and obsessed with increasing their numbers. As a result, rape became so commonplace, it was practically a pastime. In order to aid the beleaguered women of the tribe, the seers developed a way to control our fertility by will alone, which in time became innate. In other words, a woman of our people can only become pregnant when she chooses. This power evened the scales, so to speak, and the men quickly began to treat their women with respect—those who failed to do so rarely succeeded in reproducing, and so the more violent family lines died out.
"However, marriages to this day continue to be arranged and occasionally even forced—as in Avani's case. Marriage is seen as a way to continue bloodlines and to combine abilities in the hopes of concentrating and enhancing them. Some marriages are more fortunate, and both parties either learn to love each other or occasionally, as with Rishi and me, two lovers might even be permitted to marry. However, most marriages are little more than breeding contracts. Love is seen as an entirely unrelated concept from marriage.
"Because of this separation of love and marriage, pre-marital and extra-marital relations are not considered taboo or even frowned upon. They are, in fact, considered an important aspect of our lives, providing for our emotional needs in ways that marriage usually cannot. On the other hand, since women are able to control childbearing to such an extent, giving birth to a child fathered by anyone other than one's husband is strictly taboo, and on the very, very rare occasions when it has been confirmed, it has resulted in the banishment of both the mother and her illegitimate child from the tribe."
"So... you could fool around with anyone as much as you wanted, married or not, as long as you didn't have kids outside of marriage?" Dylas asked, frowning as he tried to understand the concept.
Sharmila nodded. "Yes, that's right. So his demand that Avani remain a virgin until her wedding night was highly unusual, and to most of our people, entirely unreasonable."
Avani picked up her narrative again then. "But he promised to recompense my father with an increased bride-price, the remainder of which he would pay after confirming that I was indeed still intact. My father didn't approve of my growing interest in Sundara, whom he considered inferior to my fiancé, so he readily agreed—knowing that would keep us apart to some degree, at least for a time.
"That wasn't enough for him, though. Afterwards, after Sundara left in defeat, he followed me outside and cornered me in my stable. He said that I belonged to him, and that he expected me to abide by his wishes. Because, he said, if I didn't...." Her pupils suddenly and rapidly dilated, her eyes nearly black as she was gripped with the remembered terror of that threat, and she began to shiver uncontrollably. I knelt next to her, alarmed by the sudden change in her demeanor and attempting to soothe her, while Chanda jumped up, nearly colliding with Dylas as they both darted towards Avani.
Arthur stood and cleared his throat, concerned but calm, as always. "Perhaps we should take a break. I see that it is nearly midday; let's all go to Porcoline's for lunch, and our guests can meet some of the townsfolk, if they would care to do so? Then once Avani has had a chance to recover, we can continue."
Rishi and Sharmila agreed, and Chanda merely shrugged indifferently from where she knelt on Avani's other side, unable to take her worried eyes off her long enough to respond properly. "Go on ahead, and we'll join you there shortly," I said to Arthur, who nodded in response. He took Dylas by the elbow, and Sharmila took Rishi's arm and nudged Chanda along as they departed, leaving by the front door to take the longer route, giving us a little more time.
Once we were alone, Avani looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "He... he threatened to kill Sundara if I... if I didn't...." And then she threw her arms around my neck and sobbed as I held her tightly, wondering what manner of being she had been bound to—and whether those bonds held her still.